AN: Thanks for the review guys but I have a feeling that you guys are gonna hate me after this chapter. Let's see what happens...
Chapter 18: Season One Finale
Episode 'Founder's Day' is the last episode of season one. So it was obviously the finale. And as finales are supposed to be full of twists and turns, tonight is going to be no different. It was quite dark at the time and the fireworks would start soon. I was feeling quite nervous about what would happen tonight. I was keeping an eye on Tyler. I have decided that when the Mayor would rush him out of the Grill, I would go look for Elena and Jeremy and send them home as well. I could have done that before and Jeremy probably would have listened to me without asking any question but Elena would have demanded an explanation from me. But honestly, at that time, I really didn't want to talk to her unless its absolutely necessary, let alone explain things to her that she doesn't need to know. I know whatever happened between me and Damon was not her fault at all but I couldn't help but feel a little mad at her. Because at the Grill when Damon was flirting with Elena, she was flirting back as well. What if she starts feeling for Damon due to all these flirting? She is after all a descendant of Katherine Peirce who once enjoyed both of the Salvatore brothers. Besides, neither Elena nor Jeremy is going to get hurt this night so I wasn't that worried about their safety, truth to be told.
As I was walking around and observing everything, I found Alaric thankfully. I knew from the TV show that the tomb vampires wouldn't get a chance to attack anyone. They are the ones who would be under attack tonight and killed off as well. However there is still a little possibility that the things might change this time and the whole situation could turn into a brilliant disaster within moments. That thought made me realize that I should have a back up plan just in case. And that back up plan involved Alaric. Seeing me approaching him, Ric offered me a smile but I was too serious to return that.
"Ric we have a problem." I said with seriousness in my voice that made Alaric furrow his brows at me right away. And he got confused as well.
"What is it?" He asked worriedly.
"The tomb vampires are going to attack tonight, right here. They want to kill all the descendants of the founding families and as many people as they can. They are madly vengeful and we are their primary targets." Hearing that Alaric's forehead ceased with worry.
"We should evacuate the place right away." He started panicking and I didn't blame him for that. Anyone in his place would.
"No we can't do that. We are the bait here. We have to stay here long enough to lure the tomb vampires out. Don't worry Uncle John would take care of the vampires on time. But still be prepared. If you see anyone getting attacked, save them. You brought any weapon with you?" I asked and he nodded but Ric looked like he was still in a shocked state.
"I have some stakes and vervain darts in my car trunk." He replied to me.
"Good, and please don't loose your ring and don't get killed if it comes out of your finger somehow, okay." I was about to leave but Alaric stopped me before I could get away from him.
"Jacq, you should get out of here right now along with Elena and Jeremy. If the descendants of the founding families are their main target then they will attack you guys first." I nodded to him without arguing.
"I was about to go get Jeremy and Elena. We will leave in time don't worry. Just be safe and keep others safe." I said that to Ric with assuring tone of voice. After that he headed towards his car and I started looking for Jeremy and Elena among the crowd. But a gasp escaped my mouth when I saw two certain vampires walking towards the crowd. Damon and Stefan Salvatore. What the hell are they doing here? I thought they have left and won't come back anytime soon. I thought they were probably having a heated argument back at their boarding house or maybe fighting with each other somewhere away from this place. But clearly that wasn't the case and I have to get them out of here before it's too late. It was almost time for uncle John to activate the weapon. I rushed to them fast as if my own life was depending on it.
"What the hell are two doing here? Where have you been?" I practically shouted at them. Where Stefan got worried and confused at my reaction, Damon simply smirked at me.
"We are here to enjoy the fireworks. Why? Were you missing me that badly? I thought-" Damon started saying but thankfully Stefan cut him off.
"We had to talk about something." He glared at Damon before continuing. "That's why we were away for a while. Is everything alright Jacq?" Stefan asked worriedly judging my expression. I took in a deep breath to calm myself down as much as possible because currently I was on the verge of hyperventilating.
"You two need to leave right now. Go as far away from this place as possible." I said but they just kept staring at me as if I have grown another extra head on my shoulder. Why can't they just listen to me for once without being difficult?
"Jacq, what is going on?" asked Stefan this time getting more worried and tensed up.
"This is serious guys. You are wasting your time. Just get out of here. Can't you listen to me for once without asking so many questions? Get out right now." I was yelling at them again. Damon stepped into it to make the situation more difficult as usual.
"We are not going any where until you explain everything." I took another deep breath. They are not gonna listen to me until I tell them everything.
"Anna called me. The tomb vampires are planning an attack tonight. Uncle John is going to use the device to kill them. If you stay here, you are gonna get killed along with the others." Stefan shook his head at me as I said that.
"Then we must stay here and protect the people. The device doesn't work anymore." Stefan said still not getting what I was telling them. I sighed out in frustration. The time was running out fast.
"It works Stefan. Bonnie never lifted off the spell. So, get out of here right now and fast." I said and hoped for them to start running but they didn't moreover, Damon got another stupid idea in his head.
"How about we kill John and stop him from using it then take down the tomb vampires and kill them" said Damon as if it was the easiest job to do in this world. I rolled my eyes at him angrily.
"Seriously Damon, shut up. You are only two vampires and they are twelve of them. Besides if you start killing in public place you will be exposed in front of the whole town. And you know the consequences if that happens. We need to let John use the device. Otherwise, all the decedents of the founding families will be killed off before the night ends. We need the tomb vampires dead and only John can do that with the help of the device. Did I make myself clear?" I hoped that they would start running now.
"She is right." Stefan agreed with me thankfully. "The tomb vampires need to die and we need to let John use the device. When is the attack happening?" He asked inquiring about it.
"When the fireworks starts. The tomb vampires are already here." I said as I saw a very familiar tomb vampire coming towards the crowd. Both the Salvatore brothers saw him as well.
"You don't have much time. Please go. The device will start off any moment now." I was kind of pleading with them now. Right then Elena spotted us and came over to us quickly. She figured out by our faces that sometime was going on wrong.
"What's going on?" She asked but instead of answering her, Stefan hurried us up.
"We need to leave, I will explain everything to you on our way" said Stefan to Elena. I noticed Mayor Lockwood has already started giving his speech. The fireworks will soon start. I was about to sprint back towards the crowd to find Jeremy but Damon caught my hand.
"You are not going anywhere. We are all getting out of here together right now" said Damon to me with seriousness in his voice that I never heard before. Elena was absolutely confused at what was going on and Stefan was getting more tensed up with every passing seconds.
"I can't leave without Jeremy. The tomb vampires are walking all around the place. What if they start killing before the fireworks. I need to go find him." I said while trying to free my hand out of Damon's grip but it was a futile attempt.
"What you really need to do is get out of here. I will go find Jeremy" said Damon. No absolutely not. I can't let him stay here when the device goes off. I won't allow it.
"Why don't you understand Damon? I am the one human here and the device won't affect me but it will kill you." Was it a lot to ask that just once Damon would listen to me and do as I say? I should have sent Elena and Jeremy home a long time ago. I started regretting that at that moment. How could I let my ego get in the way when it was a matter of life and death? If Jeremy wasn't out there that time, I could have simply left with Damon and save us all from getting into trouble. Damon was standing before me at the moment and being stubborn as always.
"That's what exactly I want you to understand Jacq. You are a human and therefore won't stand a chance against a vampire attack." I understood by the look on his face that I won't win the argument with him this time. Damon looked at Stefan.
"Get them out of here. I will find Jeremy and leave as soon as possible." Stefan nodded and Damon was out of sight in a blink. I had no choice but to walk with them. I saw Tyler, Caroline and Matt already in a car. They were driving away. I hoped that Damon would find Jeremy in no time and leave before the device starts working. We just reached Stefan's car when the fireworks started and Stefan fell on his knees immediately. Oh my god! the device started working already and Damon was still in the crowd. How could I let this happen? It was supposed to be an easy job for me to keep everyone safe tonight. I just needed to take Elena and Jeremy home and let everything else happen. Only if Stefan and Damon hadn't showed up. Stefan was feeling excruciating pain. Elena was kneeling beside him not knowing what to do.
"Elena get him in the car. He can't be seen." I said and helped her getting Stefan in the car where he will be perfectly hidden from others. I was getting out of the car and Elena looked confusedly at me.
"Where are you going Jacq?" She asked. Damon was out there. Elena can't expect me to stay with her.
"I am going to get Damon" saying that I ran back to the center stage where all the tomb vampires were being silently vervained as they fell onto their Knees all at once. I searched for Damon in them but he wasn't there. Did he get out? I hoped for that. But I shouldn't count on it. After searching for Damon for a while longer which felt like years to me, I was feeling extremely broken and empty from inside. The other vampire bodies were already taken away but Damon wasn't in them. I am sure of it. Suddenly I bumped into Alaric and was surprised to find that Jeremy was with him. They both looked worriedly at me.
"They took Damon. He was the first vampire they found among the crowd. I couldn't do anything to stop them" informed Alaric and my heart threatened to burst into pieces.
"Where did they take him?" I asked impatiently.
"To the old church building" said Ric and before any of them could say a word to me I was running towards that place. I can never forgive myself if Damon dies tonight. I have to save him even if I die trying to save him instead. When I got there I recognized the place from the show. Uncle John has already started the fire and he came out with a satisfied look on his face.
I got inside the building as soon as John walked away from the doorway. The fire was spreading over everyone rapidly and some vampires were already on fire. I didn't care that my skin was burning due to the heat. I ran inside as fast as possible. I found Damon lying on the floor in the furthest corner where the fire hadn't reached yet. He was completely paralyzed and couldn't move a muscle except for his head. His eyes went wide when he saw me there and tried to speak up but failed. There was only one way he could get strong instantly and that was by feeding blood. I looked around me and spotted Mayor Lockwood's dead body in the process. I felt sorry for him for a moment. Then finally I found what I was looking for. A sharp broken piece of mirror. I picked it up without a second thought and cut my wrist with it. Blood came out fast. I pressed it on Damon's lips quickly. Blood rushed into his mouth and started to get in his system quickly. The changes were clearly visible. Damon was getting his strength back quickly. Soon he grabbed my hand himself and started to suck the blood on his own. Draining more blood out of me. But what surprised me was that instead of feeling only pain, I was feeling a heavenly sensation as well. It was mixed with the pain as Damon kept drinking my blood on his own. And then he bit onto my wrist and I felt a jolt of electricity running through my body. I never felt anything like that before from a vampire bite. The only thing I felt was pain from my previous vampire bite experiences. It was completely different. I realized that Damon had enough because he looked normal again.
"Damon you need to stop." I said to him in a low voice but he heard me anyway. I was feeling a little dizzy. Damon probably took a lot of blood besides I was already very weak from beforehand. Damon pulled away even though it was hard for him to do so. I could tell by his face that he was still very hungry and weak.
"We need to get out of here." I said to Damon. The fire was catching up with us soon. Damon got up on his feet in a blink of an eye and lifted me up in bridal style. In vampire speed, he reached the bottom of the stair case with me in his arms. But the fire was too much on the stairs. He could probably get out with a bit of a burn that he will heal in no time if he runs as fast as he could. But I was the one at risk here. Because not only I will slow down his speed but also I won't heal fast if I get burned. But suddenly the fire started to low down and Stefan appeared at the door.
"Bonnie." I whispered to myself. Stefan was shocked to see me and Damon there. He stood away from the door and in a blink of an eye Damon got us out of there. Elena and Bonnie were there as well and they were shocked to see me there just like Stefan. Damon put me down but didn't let go of me and kept a strong hold on me to keep me steady. I took in deep breaths to fill my lungs with fresh air again.
"You okay?" Stefan asked his brother who just nodded. His entire attention was on me. Bonnie and Elena were asking me the same things but with more emotions.
"My hand is still bleeding." I said holding up my wrist. Blood was dripping out of it. Stefan looked away immediately.
"I got this" said Bonnie and started chanting some spells while putting her hand above my wounded wrist. Magically my wound was gone like it was never there and my wrist looked new again.
"Thanks Bonnie." I said but before Bonnie could respond to that she was confronted by an aggressive Damon. Both Stefan and I got alert immediately.
"You lied to us." Damon growled at her. I got in between the two of them quickly because both of them could hurt each other badly and I didn't want any of them getting hurt.
"Damon, she did what she had to do. We needed to get rid of the tomb vampires. They were crazy with revenge. And everything is fine now. So, please both of you leave each others throat." After some more glaring at each other Damon looked away from Bonnie but I could tell that he was still pissed off. Without saying anything he started to walk away from there but he wasn't leaving alone. He dragged me along with him. Elena and Bonnie both were confused but Stefan had a knowing look on his face.
"What's going on?" asked Elena out loud wanting a proper explanation but Stefan replied only by saying.
"Nothing."
On the other hand Damon was still dragging me along with him. He wasn't being particularly gentle at that either.
"Where are you taking me Damon?" I asked for the sixth time in last two minutes and received no answer from him. It was difficult to follow up with him too. He was sort of doing the angry dragging thing with me. After a while I got pissed off too.
"What the hell Damon, let go of my hand. I am not going anywhere with you." I struggled to get out of his grip. He stopped and pushed me up against the nearest wall suddenly. His body was pressing against mine. My heart skipped a beat at his aggressive gesture. Is he going to make out with me now? Apparently not because he was growling at me with anger.
"Why is it so hard for you to not put yourself in danger? Did you not realize how dangerous it was for you to get inside there? You could have died down there. You could have get burned up. I could have drained you dry." I could sense that Damon was actually scared of these possibilities that could have happened and he was trying to mask his fear in anger. I could only smile at his out burst.
"And here I thought Mr. Dangerous Salvatore is going to fall in love with me for saving his dear life single handedly. You know like it happens in those romantic movies." Damon looked intensely at me for some time.
"Very funny." He stopped pressing his body into mine much to my disappointment. But I was still leaning against the wall and he was standing close enough that I could feel his special kind of warmth because he wasn't really warm but cold for being a vampire. He couldn't really have body heat like a normal human but it was more alluring to me. He was caging me by putting his hands on the wall on both of my sides. Then he started caressing my cheek softly while looking deeply into my eyes. As if he was searching for something.
"What do I have to do to keep you from putting yourself in life threatening situations?" Damon used his low sexy tone of voice that always gives me goose bumps. I gulped down the nervousness that was rising up inside me.
"There is nothing you can do Damon. I said this to you once already. I like short exciting life. You won't get to play the hero with me." I stated simply which didn't please him a bit.
"You drive me crazy you know that. Whatever happened today it will never repeat again? Do you understand me? I will seriously lock you up somewhere for the rest of your life if you try to play hero again" said Damon and again he was being all demanding and controlling. And I didn't like that a bit.
"Whatever happened today would have never happened in the first place if you had just listen to me and left the place with Stefan as soon as I asked you to." I said kind of bitterly making Damon frown at me angrily.
"So, this is my fault now." Damon said getting pissed off that I was accusing him but I glared back at him without hesitation.
"Yes, it is. You were being stubborn and didn't leave when I told you to." I huffed angrily at him as I said that. Damon furrowed his brows at me.
"Fine, I take that I didn't leave when you asked me to but you shouldn't have got inside the building when it was already on fire. That was a very stupid thing to do" said Damon and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"So you'd rather I let you die down there?" I crossed my arms over my chest to make myself look stronger but I felt a shudder through my body when he leaned near my ear and whispered.
"Yes." I glared at Damon more dangerously this time.
"I would never do that." I was surprised that I could muster up such strong tone in my voice. Damon was still leaning in me and his soft lips were brushing against my sensitive spot. It was making my entire body shiver with pleasure.
"Why not?" He whispered into my ear again and this time my breath hitched in my throat. Does he have no any idea what he is doing to me right now? I think he does and still doing it to torture me. I felt his arms wrapping around me and his hands roamed over my back. My knees threaten to give out. As I wasn't answering him, too lost in his touches, Damon asked again.
"Why can't you let me die?" I had almost said that 'Because I am in love with you' but suddenly I remembered him saying that he can't stand seeing Elena hurt and would do anything for her happiness. After hearing that from him just this morning I will be damned if I let him know about my feelings so soon. I snapped out of his seduction right away. He almost got to me this time.
"Because Stefan would be miserable for eternity if you die and seeing Stefan sad, it would have made Elena sad too. And I can't let my sister be sad for the rest of her life." Damon pulled away so fast as if I shocked him or burned him or something like that.
"What?" He asked, well almost yelled. Not believing what he just heard. I just shrugged my shoulders at him nonchalantly.
"Not to mention, your soul wouldn't find any peace if Elena stays unhappy. I know how important it is for you to keep her happy not only in your life but in you death as well." I finished with an understanding smile. Damon was full on gaping at me.
"Where did that come from?" He asked accusingly, still not believing I completely ruined his perfect moment.
"What do you mean where it came from? You are the one who told me that you can't stand seeing Elena hurt." I said reminding Damon of his statement. He rolled his eyes at me with a groan.
"Look what I said this morning-" I cut him off before he could say more.
"Damon, I completely understood what you said this morning. Trust me you don't need to give me another elaborate explanation for that." I said in an extra chipper tone of voice that annoyed Damon to no limit. He tried to speak up again but I didn't let him.
"Can we just go home now, please? I am feeling really tired." I said calling off the conversation in a way. Damon exhaled a deep breath and nodded his head.
"I will drive you home." Damon said and we started to walk towards his car.
While walking with Damon, Caroline's thought came into my mind. She must be at the hospital right now. And Matt and Tyler must be with her. I wish I could go to them. But that wouldn't be possible right now as Damon was with me. And he won't leave me until he drops me home. And if I ask Damon to take me to the hospital he would get suspicious of me. Damon and I soon got into his car and he drove me home. The entire ride we didn't say a word to each other. Damon pulled over the car in front of our house and we both got out of the car. Before I could knock on the door and enter the house Jeremy opened the door quickly and sort of attacked me on the porch. He engulfed me in a bear hug. Jeremy must already know everything that has happened tonight. I noticed from the corner of my eyes that Damon rolled his eyes at us. Was he jealous of Jeremy too? Men and their galaxy sized ego. Or is Damon more special in this department?
"You okay? I was so worried about you" asked Jeremy and I nodded with a smile.
"The tomb vampires are gone for good; everyone is safe now and I seriously need to get cleaned up." I said and Jeremy laughed, letting go of me as well.
"Is everyone home?" I asked Jeremy wanting to know if Elena was here already.
"Elena isn't home yet." He replied and I just nodded then the three of us entered the house. I went upstairs to get cleaned up and get a nice shower. I wasn't sure if Damon and Jeremy would have any talk about life like last time. I mean like they did in the show. Because Jeremy was in a totally different situation this time. I was feeling quite restless and only splashed some water on my face and got out of the bathroom. Thinking of taking a shower later. I leaned over my window still and looked outside. The cold breeze was making me feel better but it didn't calm my nerves down. I saw Elena coming towards the house with bags in her hand. So it must be-
"Katherine." I whispered so low that even a vampire wouldn't hear it.
Damon got out through the door before Katherine could knock. I held onto my breath unknowingly. Damon glanced at my way and saw me looking at them. He took the bags from her, being a perfect chivalrous person and put them away. I wasn't even blinking and stared at them as they talked. Then he leaned in and kissed her cheek. I gripped the window frame so hard that my knuckles turned white. And before I knew it Katherine or Elena for Damon crushed her lips onto his. Instead of pushing her away Damon wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. My heart internally started bleeding at the sight. I couldn't look at them anymore as my eyes literary hurt. I shut my eyes close and tried to make the images go away from my mind but it didn't work. I guess I was right not to confess my love for Damon earlier. I would have made a complete fool out of myself. Damon can never love anyone else but Katherine or Elena. Right then Jenna opened the door and let Katherine in like it happened in the show. But I was so heart broken that I didn't care about it a bit. I guess I had it coming. I should have never let myself fall for someone who already gave up his heart to someone else. And at that moment I promised myself that I will not pin over Damon. I will move on from him. After all there is always someone better out there.
AN: Reviews please. 'kisses and hugs'.